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February 25, 2011

Microwave Puffy Paint

With a few ingredients and a microwave you can make fun art work and do a science experiment at the same time.  Your kids will love this simple Microwave Puffy Paint Recipe.

All you need is:

1/2 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

food coloring

Enough water to make a paste

Cardboard or mat board

Just simply mix the ingredients together.  The mixing can be done by the kids, which my girls loved.  They were both convinced we were making pancakes.  “That is NOT how you make paint Mom.”  Once we added colors then they finally agreed it was paint.  Funny!  We just made one batch and divided it between the 6 different colors.

We poured the paint into squeeze bottles.  We used left over craft paint bottles and a couple squeeze bottles stolen donated from my wonderful sister-in-law.  The girls loved squeezing the paint, but you could use cotton swabs to apply it as well.  The thicker the paint is applied, the thicker the puff once microwaved!

Once the masterpiece if finished simply place in the microwave for 20 – 50 seconds depending on how thick the paint was applied.  You will see the paint puff up and dry out when it is done.  We had to microwave a couple of ours pieces 2 or 3 times to get all the paint to “cook”.  This was like magic to the girls, they giggled and giggled.  I was delighted myself, the paint looked so great all puffy, pin pricked with holes and colorful.  Although the girls are asking for pancakes after we were all done!

There are also recipes that use self rising flour, but we did not have any so we experimented with adding baking power and it worked great.  That might be why ours have the look and smell of pancakes!

Related posts:

  1. Vinegar Baking Soda ~ Paint Experiment
  2. Fluffy Bathtub Paint
  3. Top 10 Ways to Learn with Paint
  4. What Happens If You Microwave An Egg?
Posted in Kid Art and tagged Art Recipe, Kid Art, Microwave, Painting.

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Related posts:

  1. Vinegar Baking Soda ~ Paint Experiment
  2. Fluffy Bathtub Paint
  3. Top 10 Ways to Learn with Paint
  4. What Happens If You Microwave An Egg?
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30 thoughts on “Microwave Puffy Paint”

  1. Grandma on February 25, 2011 at 8:17 pm said:

    Love the bright colors…what a cool piece of art!

    Reply ↓
    • Sherri on October 20, 2012 at 4:53 pm said:

      Does it ‘stick’ to what it is mounted to – Can you hang finished project on wall?

      Reply ↓
      • Tammy on October 22, 2012 at 1:14 pm said:

        We did not have a problem with it pulling off from the board at all. We hung our pictures up for over a month and they held up great!

        Reply ↓
  2. Rachel on March 2, 2011 at 5:52 am said:

    Oh my gosh! You have some of the most awesome ideas! I’m a new follower. 🙂

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on March 2, 2011 at 6:02 pm said:

      Thanks. I just peeked in at your blog as well. You have a very creative fun blog! I just added you to my goggle reader. I can’t wait to try your sharpie tie-dying! I LOVE IT!

      Reply ↓
  3. Brittany on May 14, 2011 at 6:29 pm said:

    I love this idea and my daughter and I had a blast making the paint as well as painting but how long is the paint good for after you have made it? Do you need to store leftovers in any certain way?

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on May 15, 2011 at 1:56 am said:

      Our paint only lasts for a couple of days before the kiddos finish it. I store it in the fridge, it separates but it works fine after it is shaken up. We have not tried to store it any longer, but I would be interested in hearing your experience.

      Reply ↓
  4. buy luvox no prescription on May 15, 2011 at 5:16 pm said:

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  5. Liga Krista on June 28, 2011 at 9:34 pm said:

    wow! this made our day!

    Reply ↓
  6. Time for Play on July 28, 2011 at 8:30 pm said:

    We just made this paint the other day. http://4herreras.blogspot.com/2011/07/fluffy-puffy-paint. We didn’t use the baking soda. Will have to try that recipe. i love that you put it in squeeze bottles. Genius!

    Reply ↓
  7. Hiragana Mama on August 18, 2011 at 12:52 pm said:

    We just tried this and it was awesome! Thank you!

    Reply ↓
  8. Liga Krista on August 30, 2011 at 9:42 am said:

    is there a way how to store the paint? in freezer, fridge or cupboard? 🙂

    Reply ↓
  9. Rashmie @ MommyLabs on October 10, 2011 at 3:18 pm said:

    What a beautiful process-oriented art activity. We too made this past weekend and loved the result.
    Here:
    http://mommylabs.gorgeouskarma.com/art_craft_projects_kids/enjoying-the-art-and-science-of-microwave-puffy-paint/

    Reply ↓
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  13. Heather on March 4, 2012 at 7:58 am said:

    This looks like so much fun! I was wondering if you had any issues with the paint staining? I’m always looking for quick or at least easy clean-up! Any suggestions?

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on March 5, 2012 at 3:21 am said:

      I did not have any problems at all with staining. I have white tiles and white grout and the paint easily washed off both.

      Reply ↓
  14. Polly NoCirc is WholeSon on April 14, 2012 at 9:45 am said:

    I am taking each and every single one of your ideas into my homeschool preschool! You website is great! I love it. And, it will be shared with others!

    Reply ↓
  15. bobbie on May 7, 2012 at 1:45 am said:

    how long will this store? and where? this will be awesome for the grandkiddies….love it

    Reply ↓
    • Tammy on May 9, 2012 at 10:01 pm said:

      We used ours within a couple of days. We stored it right in the squeeze bottles. Make sure that you give it a good shake before your use it.

      Reply ↓
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  20. mi on June 24, 2013 at 8:28 am said:

    Love ur ideas!!Can’t wait to try!!

    Reply ↓
  21. Francesca on January 20, 2014 at 5:00 pm said:

    My daughter and I just finished doing this project. It was so much fun. She lived it and the paintings turned out great! Thank you for such a wonderful idea.

    Reply ↓
    • Francesca on January 20, 2014 at 5:01 pm said:

      Loved****

      Reply ↓
  22. Yasmine O on March 20, 2014 at 4:33 am said:

    My kids start spring break Friday, i’d loved to try this except we don’t have a microwave. Any other way to puff and dry it out- oven?

    Reply ↓
  23. Jackie on April 5, 2014 at 2:17 pm said:

    We love homemade puffy paint, Tammy! Love how vibrant yours turned out!

    Reply ↓

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